Project description
Impact of invasive crop pests on arthropod communities
Invasive alien herbivore species pose a major threat to agriculture by directly damaging crops. They also indirectly impact on native arthropod communities, causing unpredictable outbreaks of native pest species. However, invasive species have been rarely studied within arthropod communities. The EU-funded PESTNET project will address this knowledge gap by investigating the ecological consequences of a human-introduced alien crop pest on an invaded trophic network. Researchers will use a model system represented by the highly invasive brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys), native stink bug species and shared egg parasitoids. They will assess indirect pest facilitation mediated by host-parasitoid prevalence in non-invaded vs. invaded networks and evaluate stink bug community changes to estimate spatial trends in their abundance.
Objective
Invasive alien herbivore species are a major threat to agriculture because they directly damage crops and induce severe yield losses, but also because they indirectly impact the structure, stability and functioning of native arthropod communities. Indirect facilitation mechanisms can cause unpredictable outbreaks of native pest species but, surprisingly, they have been rarely studied within arthropod communities. Within the framework of invasive species management (Regulation EU 1143/2014), understanding pest facilitation mechanisms is a research priority. This is also because invasive species negatively impact the reliability of agricultural Decision Support Systems, used in sustainable agriculture (Directive 2009/128/EC). PESTNET aims, as general objective, at developing a novel inter- multidisciplinary and intersectoral approach (field monitoring, DNA metabarcoding, multilayer ecological network analyses, citizen science) to depict the basic and applied ecological consequences of a human-introduced alien crop pest on the invaded trophic network. The model system used for implementation is represented by the highly invasive Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Halyomorpha halys, native stink bug species and shared egg parasitoids. An original two-fold cutting-edge approach is proposed aiming at assessing the following specific objectives: Obj. 1) Evaluation of indirect pest facilitation mediated by host-parasitoid prevalence in non-invaded vs. invaded networks; Obj. 2) Evaluation of stink bug community changes using a mobile monitoring system (app) to estimate spatial trends in stink bugs abundance. Through the involvement of academic and non academic (industry) partners, the project will provide novel insights on how an invasive herbivore pest of worldwide economic importance is impacting sustainable agriculture by interference with the local arthropod community.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology invertebrate zoology
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
06123 Perugia
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.